Authored by the House Republican Conference

House Republicans want to keep the government open and cut spending.  While we don’t know if Senator Reid will shut down the government, it would be irresponsible not to prepare for that possibility. 

In conjunction with several authorizing committees, House Republican Conference has compiled questions and answers to provide House Republicans and their staffs with information related to the potential effects of a lapse in appropriations.  The document can be accessed here.

The executive branch, not Congress, determines which executive branch activities are carried out during a lapse in appropriations, and therefore the information is subject to change.  As Congressional Research Service Report RL34680notes, “Previous determinations of excepted activities and personnel would not necessarily hold for any future shutdown.”

Note: the House Committee on Administration has prepared guidance for House operations during a lapse in appropriations that can be accessed here